More Q&A on Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph
Q: "Hey James, how are you doing? I was wondering what would the 10-8-6-15 program look like for a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule? I see that there are 4 different muscle categories of exercises:
A) Squats
B1) Bench Press
B2) Pulldowns
C) Laterals
D1) Incline Dumbell Curls
D2) Close Grip Bench Press
-Musai
My Answer: It’s pretty clear in the article, Musai. The above series of exercises is the workout you perform every time: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Q: "I just read your article on Pyramid training and the ectomorph. I am a dad that is ‘monitoring’ my son’s workout program. He would probably be what you would call an ectomorph. 5′8", 120lbs, 16yrs old. He is currently working out twice a week with this routine (Monday and Thursday). Doing 8-6-4-10 (70%, 80%, 90%, 60% of his max):
Smith Machine Bench
Tricep "push down" machine
Machine rows
Lat pulldown machine
Curl machine
Shoulder press machine
Squats (seated with free weights)
Leg extension machine
Leg curl machine
Calf raises on the same squat machine
Situps
"Is there anything he is doing wrong or he needs to change? I appreciate your help."
-Dwayne
MyAnswer- Looks fine, but there is one glaring problem with your list of exercises: You have too many of them. 4 sets per exercise with 11 exercises would put you at 44 total sets. Your son would be working out at least 90 minutes to 2 hours. Anything over an hour and 26 sets is overtraining.
Cut some of the exercises out and avoid training redundancy. You’ve chosen all machine exercises, but if your son started out with free weights, then you’d be able to eliminate this redundancy in training. Cut out the leg extensions and leg curls. If your son performs barbell squats, then his thighs should get enough stimulus.
Get rid of the sit-ups for now, as ab work is pretty traumatic for ectomorphs trying to gain muscle and size. Take out the triceps pushdowns and machine curls, since your son’s arms will get enough work from the presses, rows and pulldowns. Your son’s program should look like this:
Smith Machine Bench
Machine rows
Lat pulldown machine
Shoulder press machine
Squats (with free weights)
Calf raises on the same squat machine
